Does your website not live up to its fullest potential? Does it not deliver the leads or sales that you originally hoped for? Does it give an inaccurate representation of poor professionalism? Is it such a pain to update that you have almost given up on it?

As a web design and internet marketing firm we come across complaints like these every day, and with good reason. Gone are the days when having a successful web presence simply meant throwing up a simple page with your name, address, and phone number. The internet is becoming more competitive every day and it is important to triumph over your competitors in the online realm of cut throat marketing. Here are a few key tips to get you headed in the right direction to have a profitable website:

Would you buy a pair of shoes in a run-down, dirt floor, straw hut?
Although this is an extreme example hopefully you got the idea. If your website does not convey that your company is professional, respected, trusting, and better than your competition then most likely your website visitors will not want to purchase your products/services or give you their contact information. Yes, this does cost some time and money, but it is well worth the investment. Too many websites give the impression that the real business behind the website is smaller and inadequate compared to reality. How many employees do you think MWI has? 1? 20? 50? If you thought of a higher number then our website has done its job. Get your website up to date and professional. You can do this yourself, have internal employees work on it, or higher a web design firm to take the load off your shoulders; just make sure you make a goal to get it finished.

Make your website a marketing machine!
Having a website that markets your website 24/7 is one of the great benefits of the internet. People are searching for products and services at all times on the internet. Setup your website so it is constantly seeking out new potential clients for you. There are many ways to start online marketing campaigns. You can invest in SEO (search engine optimization, services); this is the process of getting your website to come up in natural search result pages of search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and MSN. You can start a SEM (search engine marketing) campaign, sometimes called PPC (pay-per-click). SEM is when you pay search engines like Google or Yahoo to display advertisements in search results in designated sponsor areas. With SEM you pay-per-click; i.e. every website visitor you receive from the service you pay the search engine, usually ranging from $.50-$2.50 per visitor. You can start a company blog, write about current hot topics in your industry. You could try website banner advertising; displaying banner ads on other websites. For some having a newsletter is an effective marketing tool. There are many other options out there for marketing your website on the internet, you can find a more comprehensive list on our website.

Dont let your current website visitors run away!
Your website probably already gets some traffic from different sources. They could come from search engine optimization, links from other sites, offline advertising methods, or many other sources. However in the end it does not matter where they come from or how many website visitors you have every day, if they all leave what is the point? Is it better to have a website that has 30,000 visitors a day with 10 buying a product or 100 visitors a day with 50 who buy your product? Website conversion is a key element to a successful and profitable website. You need to start by analyzing where website visitors are going on your website, what they are doing, what page they are leaving from, and why they are leaving. Installing web analytical software can jumpstart you in the right direction to improve your ROI for your website. There are many free web analytical programs you can install on your website; if you want to know a few resources let us know. After you have analyzed the activities of your website visitors then start making some changes by providing the information they are looking for, making it easy to find what they are looking for, and having an option to take an action (buy product, give you their contact information, etc.) on every page of your website.

We hope this information has helped you realize your goals and the actions you need to take to make your website shine! If you need any suggestions, advice, or guidance on how to make your website turn into your best and most profitable employee we are here to help. We offer free analysis and advice if you simply let us know what your goals are.

Eric Morgan is an internet marketing manager at MWI Web Design.